The present invention relates to compositions and methods for improving the visual properties of a wash process which utilizes lipophilic fluid (e.g., siloxane solvent). The present invention also relates to compositions and methods utilizing select colorants and/or sudsing agents (including suds producers and/or boosters) that provide improved visual aesthetics and/or cleaning signals to the user or operator of a lipophilic fluid (e.g., siloxane solvent) based wash process.
For centuries, fabric articles have been washed using water-based processes. In the last century, this home chore was greatly simplified by the development of the automatic washing machine. However, while greatly simplifying the home laundry process, even the home laundry process using the automatic washing machine still requires a significant amount of presorting fabric articles by color and textiles. Typically whites are washed separately from colored fabrics, and brightly colored fabric articles (e.g., dark reds and blues) from less highly colored articles. Further sorting and handling is required when the fabric articles to be laundered include xe2x80x9cdry clean onlyxe2x80x9d articles.
More recently, water conservation efforts and environmental concerns have driven laundry machine manufacturers and laundry detergent manufacturers to reduce the amount of water required in the home laundry process. However, such efforts have focused on reducing water consumption by the wash medium rather than changing the wash medium from a primarily water based process.
In parallel, concerns have arisen around the use of xe2x80x9cPercxe2x80x9d (short for perchloroethylene) as the wash medium for the commercial dry cleaning process. These concerns have lead to the development of a significant number of proposed alternatives the Perc-based processes, but to date all other alternatives are still not widely used. Examples include hydrocarbons and liquid carbon dioxide. A more recently proposed option as a replacement for Perc in the commercial dry cleaning field involves the use of siloxanes as the cleaning solution for xe2x80x9cdry clean onlyxe2x80x9d fabric articles (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos: 5,942,007, Aug. 24, 1999; 6,042,617 and 6,042,618, both Mar. 28, 2000; 6,056,789, May 2, 2000; 6,059,845, May 9, 2000; and 6,063,135, May 16, 2000).
It has been discovered that further simplification of the automatic home laundry process and elimination of the reliance on a solely water based home laundry process are possible by using a lipophilic fluid based, for example siloxane based, wash medium for the home laundry process. This process allows not only the home cleaning of a consumer""s xe2x80x9cdry clean onlyxe2x80x9d fabric articles, but also those xe2x80x9cmachine washxe2x80x9d articles conventionally washed at home in a water wash medium. Further while the consumer may still opt to wash such articles separately, the present invention process allows the consumer the freedom to significantly simplify the home laundry process by washing mixed loads of xe2x80x9cdry clean onlyxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cmachine washxe2x80x9d articles, thereby greatly reducing the presorting effort.
With such a dramatic change in the wash process comes the risk that the consumer""s expectations, built up over generations of practicing the old water based system of laundering, will not be metxe2x80x94not because of cleaning performance deficiencies but due simply to the fact that the process looks so different. Two visual cues to cleaning that consumers have come to expect are colorants in the products and sudsing during the wash. However, delivery of colorants to the lipophilic fluid systems useful for the new wash process, especially closed systems whereby the lipophilic fluid (e.g., siloxane solvent) is recycled during the wash process and reused following a recovery process, creates a new world of problems and considerations for such a process. Careful consideration needs to be given to the potential for deposition of added colorants onto the fabrics, which under the old water wash system was not a concern (dye transfer from garment to garment in the water wash process was the major color deposition control issue).
Recycle of solvent further risks the appearance of trying to clean with xe2x80x9cdirtyxe2x80x9d solution, from suspended soils being readily apparent in the wash medium. Considered addition of colorants to the lipophilic fluid to tinge or color the wash medium to mask an otherwise unsightly solution can further drive the acceptance of the system as an acceptable replacement for the old water based system.
Further, the lack of natural sudsing by a lipophilic fluid wash process (especially a siloxane wash process) and cleaning systems creates the need for select systems and/or specially added ingredients to permit the generation of suds to meet the expectations of the consumer. Careful consideration must also be given to avoiding negatively impacting the machine operations, or the ease of recycle or recovery of the lipophilic fluid, while designing the right sudsing profile to meet the consumer""s needs.
This need is met by the present invention wherein an automatic lipophilic fluid laundry process (e.g., a siloxane solvent laundry process) comprises the addition of one or more coloring agents, sudsing agents, or mixtures thereof.
The present invention also encompasses compositions useful in an automatic lipophilic fluid laundry process (e.g., a siloxane solvent laundry process) comprising one or more coloring agents, sudsing agents, or mixtures thereof.
The present invention further includes colored lipophilic fluid (e.g., siloxane solvent) systems useful in an automatic lipophilic fluid (e.g., siloxane solvent) laundry process, said solvent system comprising one or more lipophilic fluids (e.g., siloxane solvents) and one or more coloring agents safe for contact with fabrics during the automatic lipophilic fluid laundry process.
These and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. It is to be further understood that the present invention processes and compositions may be practiced outside of the home, including but not limited to institutional cleaning and commercial dry cleaning facilities. All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are by weight, unless otherwise specified. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius (xc2x0 C.) unless otherwise specified. All measurements are in SI units unless otherwise specified. All documents cited are in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference.